Picking Up the Pieces
by matlinsisters
Summary: After being dumped by Bianca Desousa; Drew Torres is left alone to work on being the student government's president at Degrassi. But what will happen when his only competition becomes his newest and biggest support system? Rated M for mature content in later chapters.


_**"Lightning strikes inside my chest to keep me up at night. Dream of ways to make you understand my pain."**_

* * *

There it was, the ring he had given Bianca just weeks prior in front of his entire family. The ring that once belonged to his great grandmother was now back in his hands. As his rough fingers twirled the ring, he continued to stare at it while sitting outside the school. The words "Don't bother to contact me, you won't be able to after today." still ringing loud in his mind. Drew sighed softly, forcing himself not to cry even though his heart felt like it was going to crack then crumble right out of his chest. Drew paid no mind to the other students passing him by, though most of them were giving him curious looks as they walked by the sad grade 12 student. With new-found popularity, Drew was struggling to handle the pressures of being the president of the student council at Degrassi. He was lucky that he won the vote but now, without his biggest support system in the school - the older Torres brother couldn't help but to feel lost and on his own. And now, he was outside of the school sitting on the steps lost inside of his own thoughts - so lost he hadn't noticed that someone he knew was sitting down next to him.

Clare could see from the look on Drew's face that something had gone horribly wrong. It was not long after the decision was made by the student council that Drew would become president. However, all he could was sit and stare at a golden diamond ring that was being twirled between each finger. "Drew? Are you okay?" Clare asked curiously, ignoring the fact that she had just felt her own heart break in her chest again after hearing a song that reminded her of Eli on the radio in her car.

"Why do you care?" Drew spat, glaring at the girl beside him as his icy blue eyes made contact with her ocean hues. Clare was taken aback by his tone of voice, though the two had never made friends in the past - she still had a big heart and cared for those around her. "Let me guess, one of your buddies found out that I'm handing the presidency over to you today, right?" he added, furrowing his brow as he spoke bitterly.

"No," she began feeling confused about his attitude, "Wait a minute, why are you doing that? You know I don't mind you having the position and that I'm sorry about the way I treated you before!" Clare exclaimed, she turned to face him as she let her thoughts and problems fade into the background. She had never seen Drew Torres so angry before in her life.

"My one support system left me okay? Bianca moved away to Ottawa to live with her grandparents. She - apparently thinks it's for my own good," Drew admitted, his words filled with bitterness and his tone heavy with anger. Maybe just a dash of sadness in there too. "She wrote me one of those break up letters and explained everything. To sum it up, something about Cam's death made her second guess her commitment to me. She said it would hurt too much to ever lose me so she was leaving. It made no sense," Drew explained, as fast as his eyes filled to the brim with tears - he wiped them away quickly. "And let's face it - you're made for the job, okay? You're smart. I'm too stupid because I always screw things up. Always." He spoke tearfully.

Clare felt terrible as she listened to Drew speak his mind. She didn't know what else to do except place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Making a quick decision, she smiled softly then shook him gently. "Hey, look at me." She muttered, biting down on her bottom lip. Drew looked up, allowing his eyes to make contact with her own. "What if - what if I become the vice president of the student council? You'll have my support. You have to make your final decision today, yeah?" She added. Drew nodded simply then shrugged.

"Yeah, I have to let them know today what my plans are and if I want to back out and hand the position over to you or not." Drew replied.

"Then let's do that. I'll be behind you every step of the way and maybe - at some point - you and I can become friends, too. I would like that a lot actually. And for the record? I don't think you're stupid." Clare admitted, though her heart was still feeling broken she was hoping that maybe putting her mind to work on a new project would numb out this horrible feeling. Especially if it meant helping someone that had the potential to become a good friend to her; if he could stop disliking her.

"Are you sure?" He asked, Clare nodded her head then smiled. "Okay, let's get inside so we can go to the office and tell them what the deal is." Drew stated, taking the ring and placing it into one of the pockets of his bookbag for safe keeping. Once the boy stood up, he helped Clare up then followed her inside.

"Thank you," He spoke softly as the two walked.

"You're much welcome, Drew. Anything to help a friend out."


End file.
